


League Of Melancholy

by Chasun



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:21:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21982840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chasun/pseuds/Chasun
Summary: After a night of playing League with some friends, a power outage forces Riley to call it a night. When he returns to his bedroom, he finds a familiar woman who he would never expect to see; the Daughter of the Void, Kai'sa. Weakened and confused, the pair combine forces to find a way to return her to her world while trying to fit in to his mundane day to day life.A updated version of an old story of mine I wrote on FF.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	1. Stormy Start

Prior to this game, I never expected something to hold my attention for nearly a decade. The former fourteen year old kid that was angry at his bronze level play on a laptop now sat on a comfortable, cheaper end gaming chair while playing on a dec// ent enough PC with some friends on a Wednesday night. I stretched my arms above my head as my champion finished recalling. I leaned back forward and placed my hands on the mouse and keyboard. 

"Think maybe you can try to not miss smite on this dragon?" I said into the headset I was wearing. I moved my champion, Kai'sa, towards the dragon for the upcoming fight. I had just managed to get a kill on the enemy Ashe so we had a few seconds to rush the dragon.

"It literally gets bursted down from 2000 health to 300 in a second, I never know when to smite," my friend who was jungling, Greg. I sighed.

"I fucking give you a literal visual countdown of when to smite with this champion and you still can't do anything right," I joked. "Plus… Mundo jungle."

"Yeah maybe Mundo isn't the best right now, Greg," said our mid laner, Mikey. 

After the continued bashing of our high school friend, we easily got the dragon and continued pushing our lead. Since most games this season seemed to last about twenty five minutes, we prayed on that as we mostly played around the split pushing Nasus and on our random top laner to not feed. We continued our push mid lane as we still saw Nasus on the top lane against our Lucian. I turned to my left quickly as my window lit up; the weather had worsened and the lightning surely meant it would be my last game.

"Is it raining by you guys? It's so bad right now. Feels like a hurricane," I asked.

"It's raining but haven't seen any lightning," Greg mentioned. Mikey agreed with him before we focused back on the game. 

"If you see Ahri or Leona step up, just run at them," Mikey said. Both teams just paced around as the minions hit the tower and were promptly slain by Ahri. 

"Maybe you engage on Ashe or Ahri. I can follow up, I got Runaan's so if I die I'll probably still almost kill everyone," I added. He was playing Fizz so if he caught a carry, they would surely die. 

As we planned, Leona casted her ultimate onto my support, Zyra, as their Xin Zhao dashed forward. We began to fight as Fizz's ultimate was blocked by their Leona. Ping sounds filled my ears as we saw a teleport coming in from Nasus. At that point, I had dashed into their backline and killed Ashe and Xin with the help of Mundo. I was low health from Ashe's retaliation as Nasus with ghost activated ran towards me.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, Greg, help!" I said, as I desperately tried to kite the Nasus. He raised his arm to wither me and I braced for my final moments to try and do as much damage as I could. 

He swung his cane down once and I used my heal to survive once. I landed 5 shots into him, trigger Kai'sa's passive, as he raised his weapon again. He slammed down and my room went pitch black.

I took my headset off and rubbed my eyes.

"I better not get banned for this crap…" I said, sighing. I grabbed my phone and yawned. 'Guess I should sleep anyway…'

I shook my phone to activate the flashlight. A red eye stared back at me as my now silent aquarium reminded me I would have to fix the filter again tomorrow. I tapped the glass as the albino fish moved around idly and headed towards the kitchen.

After letting my friends know what happened, I grabbed a plastic cup and got some water from the fridge. I leaned against the kitchen counter and pointed my phone light towards the living room floor so I could see the glass door. 

The rest of the neighborhood was pitch black. I couldn't remember a time where even the street lights went off. I sighed… this better fix itself before my last day off tomorrow. 

The cup clanged against the steel sink to break the pure silence as I headed back to my room. As I moved into the room, my eyes took a second to adjust as I fumbled to hold the light while trying to grab my charger cord. The phone slipped from my hands and me harsh sound as it hit the wooden table. I picked it back up to turn the flashlight off as I noticed something.

Something… moving. Something under my covers shifted slightly. I freaked out slightly for a second.

"Haha very funny, Luna, get out of my room," I said out loud, hoping my sister's prank would be fooled. No response. I grabbed the sheet and flung it away towards the foot of the bed. 

While the body was, at a quick glance, similar to my sibling, it had a weird skin color… I raised my flashlight a little to see her face.

"Ka… Kai'sa?!"

Slowly, I placed my knees on the edge of my bed and went to reach out for her. Slowly her eyes opened and her head turned but when her eyes saw my hand, she lunged towards me, knocking me off the bed and onto the carpeted floor. Her hands glowed purple before forming into what looked like a projectile inches from my face.

"W-w-w-w-wait, don't attack me," I said, shutting my eyes. She held one of my arms tightly pinned as she placed her knee on my chest. "Let me explain, please."

She didn't speak but the projectile vanished and she simply grabbed my second arm. I opened my eyes slowly and looked at her eyes.

"Listen, I'm a umm… a summoner, I guess you could say?" I began. I continued shakily. "I have no idea what's going on, please just trust me."

"How did I get here then?" She asked. Her grip tightened. 

"I don't know! I was controlling you, I think?" I began again. "My power went out and you just appeared on my bed. I'm just as confused."

"This sounds insane," she said, still on guard. 

"I have no weapons or abilities. I can tell you whatever I know but just let me move," I said. My head was pressed against the wall very uncomfortably. I tried not to think about her being inches from probably snapping my neck. "I don't mean you any harm."

"Fine," she said. She let go of my arms and shifted her legs. She remained sitting on my stomach and looking down at me. "You sound weak, no offense."

"None taken coming from you?" I began. Despite being terrified, I was still a man and I would be lying if I didn't say the view wasn't very pleasant. Still… I noticed her floating weapon parts of her exoskeleton wasn't here. "I can try to explain but do you mind if we go somewhere else?"

"Why? Here is fine," She said. 

"It's very late and my family is asleep, I don't want them to freak out," I answered. She stared at me for a few seconds. "If I were a threat, would I be scared of waking up my parents?"

"Who's Luna?" She asked me. I stared at her strangely. "You said that, right? I assume towards me."

"Right… Luna is my sister. I thought she was trying to scare me," I said. She nodded and remained quiet for a bit. While I enjoyed being under a woman, I was not in good enough shape for a woman sitting on my stomach to not feel very uncomfortable after a bit. "Can we get up?"

"Alright, I'm sorry," she said, standing up. She extended her hand and I grabbed it slowly, half expecting to feel something after that projectile left. 

"It's alright, you acted how you should," I said, attempting a smile. She moved back and sat on the edge of my bed. "Hey, are you hungry?"

"I suppose… I hadn't thought about it until now," she said, looking up at me. I raised a hand to my face and thought for a second. "Why?"

"Let's go get something to eat, we can talk all we want there," I said. I moved towards my closet and grabbed a jacket. I half thought her exoskeleton would pass as weird leggings and covering her torso would be good enough. "Here."

"Another place where I get to feel like a monster," she said, grabbing the jacket. 

"I don't think you're a monster," I began, grabbing my phone, wallet, and keys. "You almost killed me and I don't think that."

"I can retract this skin if it helps," she said. I shrugged. 

"Good to know but I think that'll be enough. C'mon let's get going," I said. She nodded, slipped the large jacket over her head, and stood behind me at my door. 

I shook my phone as a light again and led us through the silent apartment. The rain continued to pour so I grabbed an umbrella at the closet by the door. I handed it to her and slowly opened the door into the freezing hallway of the second story of my building.

"It's so cold out, I should've grabbed a jacket," I said, as I locked the door behind us. Glad my parents were heavy sleepers and that I wasn't a robber just now. She looked at me.

"Do you want this one?" She asked me. I shook my head. 

"I'll be fine, don't worry," I said, with a forced smile. 

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, she opened the umbrella and handed it to me. I walked slowly as we walked shoulder to shoulder to avoid most of the rain. I wondered how good her strange boot looking armor faired against the water as I took out my keys and unlocked the doors to my car. 

"Here, get inside," I said, moving to the passenger side. She stared at the car cautiously. "It's like… a mount?" 

"Hmm," she hummed, getting inside. I quickly moved around to the driver side and got pretty wet from trying to close the umbrella. "So where are we going, summoner?"

"Oh, that's weird to hear. Just call me Riley," I said. She nodded. "Just a diner that's open all night."

Zzzz

We drove in silence for about 5 minutes or so since the traffic lights rarely changed from no one being on the road at this hour. We pulled up to the pinnacle of late night drunken party goers meets teenages revving their modified Honda's in the parking: IHOP. I led Kai'sa inside under the umbrella and walked into a warm place that smelled like every surface would be sticky. 

"Good evening, just the two of you?" The older woman said politely. I nodded and she grabbed two menus. "Right this way."

"Thank you," I said, as we sat across from each other. She asked for our drinks since it was slow enough. "Just water for now is good."

"Alright, please tell me about this place?" Kai'sa asked me. 

"I guess… your world is supposed to not be real?" I began. She looked at me in confusion. "I mean, obviously you're here and remember everything so that isn't right."

"Why do you say that? My world is very much real," she said, harshly. 

"I'm just telling you what I know! I was your summoner but, in this world, I don't have magic powers or anything special," I said, trying to calm her down. "I'm just a regular guy."

"This is all so much. What am I going to do?" She said, rubbing her eyes. 

"Hey, I'm going to help you. I'm involved in this too," I said. She looked up at me. "You can probably stay with me…"

"I can survive on my own. I don't want to impose on you, summoner," She said, staring at her glass. I waved her off.

"You're not imposing on anyone. This must be fate, right?" I asked, smiling. She donned her first tiny smile. "We'll figure this out together."

"Thank you summoner, I appreciate it," she said. She finally stared down at the menu. "What should I get?"

"Uhhh… do you like sweets?" I asked. Her eyes widened for a second before she looked away quickly. 

"Sweet is… good," she said, quietly.

When the waitress came through again, I ordered for us both. I got my usual chicken and waffles and I got Kai'sa a breakfast combo with pancakes to cover our bases. The woman headed away and I looked at the champion again.

"I think tomorrow we should get you clothes. Easier to fit in," I suggested. She nodded. "By the way, what happened to your… hovering weapons?"

"I… don't know. I can't seem to summon them at the moment. I can't do much… when I tried to attack you, I felt nauseous after," she explained. "Summoners give us the power to easily use our full strength."

"I see… is your suit on you permanently or?" I asked.

"Yeah. I can usually expose my extremities but I can't seem to do it right now," she said, staring at her gauntlets. She went quiet as the woman came by holding a few plates. " I don't think retracting it further would be impossible if I didn't feel so weak."

"Here you two go… if you need anything just speak up, I know it's packed but I'll make time for you two," she joked, walking away as quickly as she came. 

Kai'sa stared at her food. Her eyes constantly shifted towards the stack of pancakes. I smirked and handed her one of the four bottles of syrup.

"This one's my favorite."

Zzzzz

"I definitely didn't take you for a woman with such a sweet tooth," I said, as I led the champion into the passenger seat of my vehicle. She groggily nodded and quickly got inside. 

It's like she ate six pancakes and her exoskeleton ate another 4; I held my leftover box, feeling like a chump. I drove us back to my apartment building as she slowly felt better.

"I'm sorry… I couldn't contain myself," she said, quietly. She sounded… full. I laughed. 

"No worries," I said. I parked back in my usual spot and sat in silence for a minute with only the quiet humming of the A/C and the rain hitting the car. "Tomorrow we'll wake up early so we can not run into my parents. After we go shopping, I can talk with my mom about you staying… that'll be easier."

"Your parents would let a stranger live in your home?" She asked, confused.

"I mean… I contribute a good amount of money and I haven't ever been dishonest… I think I can work that angle," I began. I looked up as I thought for a second. "I'll tell her you're a friend from school that fell on rough times or something. I'll figure it out, I always do."

"Oh?" She hummed. "You're confident."

"Ladies like confidence, right?" I asked, jokingly. She shrugged. "That's probably why I'm single."

"It's probably because you're strange," she said, smirking. "You're letting a stranger live with you."

"Yeah… plus you almost killed me like, two hours ago," I added. 

The rain had let up significantly as we walked together back to my apartment. I slowly opened the door and hid the umbrella in the back of the closet after shaking it dry. We moved our way back into my room as most of the appliances flashing their clocks to be reset. 

As we got back in my room, I saw the lights from my computer's power button and put my phone to charge as I sat on the bed. Kai'sa crawled into the bed and against the side against the wall. After setting my alarms, I laid down on my usual side and turned my head towards Kai'sa. 

"Goodnight, Kai'sa," I said, staring at the dark ceiling. A League of Legends champion was sleeping six inches away from me.

"Goodnight, Riley."


	2. Working Class

A familiar chime played about a foot away from me and I resisted the daily urge to want to throw my phone across the room. I sat up groggily and stared at my phone…

"Thursday… I don't even work today," I said. I locked my phone again and laid back down. After I turned to my right to get comfortable, I saw two purple eyes looking back at me. "Oh... Right."

"You too, huh?" She asked. I sat up again and looked at her. She seemed wide awake like she had been waiting for me to wake up. I nodded slowly. "Guess I really am stuck here."

"Yeah... we gotta get going though," I said, swinging my legs around. The champion sat up and rubbed stretched her arms.

"Your bed is quite comfortable," she said, mid yawn. As I bent down to grab socks, my door slowly opened. I swung my head back up and stared at the teenage girl who stared at Kai'sa and then at me with a malicious grin.

"Ooooh boy, this is going to make my request a hell of a lot easier," she said, closing the door behind her. 

"Don't say a word or ill-" I began to threaten as she hushed me.

"You're in no position to negotiate, are you?" She said, crossing her arms. I sighed and looked at Kai'sa for a second. She looked… ready to pounce. I spoke up to diffuse the situation. 

"What do you want, Luna?" I asked, hoping she'd remember my sister's name. 

"Let me borrow your car," she asked. I shook my head. 

"I need it today. Why?" I asked. She looked at me as if I was lying and she had good reason to. I rarely ever went anywhere on my days off. "Listen, this is… a friend of mine. Her name is Kai'sa and she was living an hour away from here but her psycho roommate kicked her out and won't let her grab her stuff."

"Is that why you were sneaking around last night?" She asked. She sat down on my computer chair. "I thought you were talking to yourself like a weirdo."

"Well, I wasn't. We were going to go clothes shopping while I think of how to ask mom if she can stay here," I said, yawning. I looked up at her. "Where were you going?" 

"Jamie's house," she said. I nodded. "Why did they re-add finals for seniors? Get to spend half my winter break writing a dumb script."

"No idea. At least your friends are reliable. I would've probably failed otherwise," I said, standing up. "I can drop you off and go get you. We were gonna go buy some clothes."

"Where is she gonna stay?" Luna asked, laying her head on her crossed arms. 

"I was hoping here if everything goes right," I began. She shrugged. "Give me a second to get ready and we can leave."

Satisfied with our negotiations, my sister nodded and headed out. I sat down in the computer chair and sighed as Kai'sa sat on the edge of the bed. I wondered if she was cold… 

"Hey, thank you for the help," she said, catching me off guard. I nodded.

"Of course. We're in this crazy situation together," I began. My door opened up again and my heart stopped until my sister came around the door again, holding a pair of jeans and a shirt. "Jesus, I thought you were Mom."

"She won't roll out of bed for hours, you know that," she said. She tossed the clothing onto the bed. "If you're going to buy clothes, you must need some, right? Hopefully we're a similar size."

"Thank you, Ms. Luna," Kai'sa said, staring up at my sister. My sister stared at her for a few seconds with a weird look. It wasn't a bad look, it seemed like she liked it… 

"Just Luna is fine," she began. She turned to me. "I'll be in the kitchen."

"That was nice of her," Kai'sa said. I nodded as she slid the t-shirt on and stared at her arms. "Will this be a problem?"

"Probably not. Maybe you should wear a jacket just in case," I said, slipping on my shoes. Normally I'd need to grab pants but didn't really think to take them off last night. 

"I'm ready," Kai'sa said, slowly standing up. She looked a bit strange despite the larger jacket I gave her. Parts of her leg and arm armor stuck out slightly but it would have to suffice. I'd just try my best to cover her whenever possible. 

We both headed out and my sister stood up from the couch as we all headed for the car. We moved quieter than usual until we locked the door. It was still relatively cold for a few hours, which was very nice for this time of year. It actually felt like the winter holidays for a few weeks aside from mid-day.

We drove about 10 minutes in near silence as we headed for my sister's friend's house. Luckily she didn't pry about Kai'sa because I don't think she had any answers. I pulled into the house and saw Jamie, my sister's childhood friend, walking up towards us. I sighed and looked at her.

"What? I told her when we were close so she'd unlock the door," Luna said, giving me a look back. I shrugged. "I can't control that she's insane."

"Sup James," I said, rolling down the window as she leaned down towards the driver said. My sister had… more or less told me that she had a crush on me so I made sure to speak as casually as possible. 

"Hey guys. I wasn't expecting to see you today. Luna says you're always wasting your life away playing video games," she teased. I turned to glare but caught the door closing. 

"I work 40 hours just like everyone else. What I do in between those hours is up to me," I said, giving her a quick wave. Luna moved beside her and she straightened up. "Well, good luck. Writing scripts is the funnest part of it all."

"Shut up," my sister said, sticking her tongue out. 

"You should help us out. You did this before so many times!" Jamie said, smiling. I shook my head.

"Wouldn't be fair. Plus my old teachers might recognize my work," I joked. My sister laughed.

"Please, you weren't that good," she said. 

"Pleeeease?" She asked, leaning up to my window again. She crossed her arms on the window frame and seemed to finally notice Kai'sa. "Oh! I didn't see you there. Hello."

"Hello," she repeated quickly. The teenager smiled at her and returned her gaze towards me. 

"You won't help two sweet girls pass their finals? You know how tough it is to get reliable people… you're the most reliable guy I know," she began. She shifted her body slightly and I kept my eyes forward. She was trying to seduce me but it's hard when I see her still as a little middle schooler in my head. I sighed audibly.

"I'll think about it, okay?" I said. She smiled again and nodded. 

"You're the best," she said, standing straight again.

"Text me when you need me to get you," I said to my sister. She gave me a quick wave as she dragged her friend back inside. I quickly took off and turned towards Kai'sa, who simply stared forward. "Sorry about that. It's always awkward with that girl."

"She seemed strange. She looked at me with a weird look," Kai'sa said. I nodded but shrugged it off. She seemingly also moved on from the topic. "Where are we going?"

"Just a place to get some clothes for now. Kinda showed up at a rough time financially," I joked.

"I don't need clothing if it is a problem," she began. She stared at her hands. "I can survive with just this."

"I know you can but you won't stand out as much this way. People will definitely recognize you," I said. She looked at me in confusion.

"How? No one knew me so far," she asked.

"Lots of people play League and you're considered very good," I began. "Luna and Jamie for sure don't play but we're bound to run into someone soon enough."

"I see. Still, what did you mean a rough time?" She asked. We pulled into the mall and began looking for parking in the crowded lot.

"It's the holidays, I spent most of my paycheck on presents for my family," I said. "I'm fine otherwise just have less than I usually do, you know?"

"I don't but if you say you're okay, I believe it," she said. 

I looped around and opened the door for her. I had never been one for clothing so I felt a bit out of my element as we entered the mall. 

Despite it being a Thursday, it was packed with teens and adults alike. Most people held large bags presumably filled with gifts, distracted kids walked around with a variety of iced coffees, and I stood near the entrance with a woman who was essentially a weapon. 

"Are all these people shopping for the holidays?" She asked. I nodded.

"Probably," I said. She began walking beside me, occasionally bumping into me from being close. Whenever she did, she apologized quietly. "Don't worry, grab my arm."

She put her hands around my arm as I moved through the sea of people towards a smaller crafts store. It was a local store that was usually the only reason I came to the mall for. She looked up at me as we broke our physical link.

"This doesn't look like a clothing shop," she said, looking around. I smirked.

"That's my secret," I said, walking inside. 

She followed me through the aisles that weren't well equipped for this many people. We stopped by an aisle with a few stacks of plain t-shirts used for tye dyeing.

"A friend of mine told me I can get cheap shirts here," I said. "Nothing beats plain shirts."

"I see. Whatever you think is best," Kai'sa said, nodding slowly. She looked around for a second. 

"Everything okay? I know this isn't luxurious but-" I began. She shook her head.

"No, I felt… something weird. Something that felt… something from my world," she said. "We should investigate."

"Right, let's go," I said. 

We finished up our shopping and I followed Kai'sa back towards the parking lot. She moved quickly through the crowd of people and I apologized as I followed. I grabbed her hand to try and keep up. She looked back at me for a second as we finally exited the mall. 

"Hey, slow down," I said, catching my breath. "I'm not in shape like you are."

"You don't sense anything weird, did you?" She asked. Even outside, people moved around us as I stared at her with her hand in mine. I shook my head and she sighed. "If there are others, what will we do?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. She stepped closer to me.

"How are we going to handle that?" She asked. "We're both weak."

"We'll figure it out when the time comes," I answered. I don't think she liked that answer but she nodded. "Hey, I have a question."

"What is it?" She asked me. 

"Want to work with me?"

Zzzzzzzz

Kai'sa had mentioned that she didn't want to be a burden and, while I didn't consider her one, we began heading together towards the bakery I worked at. I had sent a text to my boss, asking her to stay till 3 so I could speak to her. Once we pulled into the parking spot, I looked over at the champion. 

"So… are these…?" I began asking, motioning towards her face. She stared at me and her eyes widened when I touched her cheek. "The markings."

"Are they what? Permanent?" She asked me. I nodded. "No, they appear when I get ready for battle." 

"Huh… I see," I said, pulling my hand back. It didn't feel any different that her skin and the markings remained the same. I tilted my head towards the building. "Ready?"

She nodded and I led her inside. It was about time where it got extremely slow until 5. I waved at one of my managers as Kai'sa stood beside me quietly. I wondered how she was handling the overwhelming smell of coffee and baked goods I remember when I started here… judging by her pancake indulgence, she was enjoying it. I told Kai'sa to sit and wait for me before I moved over towards the counter.

"Hey, I told Jennifer I was coming by to talk to her," I said. The manager nodded and looked back. 

"Think she should be almost done," she told me. She peeked her head into the back to make sure and waved me over. I gave her a 'thank you' nod and headed into the back office. I knocked on the door as my boss sat behind her computer. 

"Riley, I can't even imagine what tragedy made you come here on your day off," she said, jokingly. She pulled the chair beside her out and motioned for me to sit. I took a seat as she turned towards me. "What's up?"

"Hey, thanks for staying, by the way," I began. She knew how I was and gave me a funny look. "So… I was wondering if you'd hire someone. A friend of mine who fell on hard times and might be living with me."

"Hmm," she said, tapping her cheek. "I am hiring right now… is she from here?" 

"Uhh, no she is not," I said. She nodded. The main reason I had this idea. My mother had worked here for a while before I started and Jennifer didn't mind hiring undocumented workers. "I'll help her with everything, she doesn't want to feel like a burden on me, you know?"

"The last employee you recommended became one of my managers so I'll give her a chance. Is she here?" She asked. I nodded and tilted my head towards the front. "Go get her."

I headed back towards the champion and stood beside her for a second. She looked up at me.

"How did it go?" She asked me.

"She wants to talk to you. I'll try and fill in the details, follow me," I said. She got up and followed me to the office. I pulled out my seat for her and stood against the door. "Jennifer, this is my friend, Kai'sa."

"Nice to meet you," she began, holding out her hand. The women shook hands. "This lazy boy put in a good word for you."

"I'm confident I can learn whatever I need to do the job," Kai'sa said, confidently. The manager nodded.

"This job isn't hard. My main problem is the same as anyone else; people don't show up. Since Riley asked that you two work together since you're staying with him, I don't see that being a problem," she began. She looked up at me. "Acts like he hates his job but is always here 20 minutes early."

"He is very reliable. I want to show my gratitude by helping him," Kai'sa said. The manager stretched her arms and looked at us both.

"Formalities aside, she'll work with you like any other trainee would and after we'll place her on the regular schedule… you open tomorrow, right?" She asked. I nodded as she peeked at the schedule. "Come tomorrow, I'll have everything you need as far as your uniform. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect. Thank you," Kai'sa said, bowing slightly. 

Zzzzzzzz

Now that I worked with a League of Legends champion, we headed back home for the hardest part of my plan. I ran through a million scenarios in my head of what my parents would say. Some were good, some were bad but I had to try. Otherwise, I'd have to sneak her in and out and that seemed like trouble waiting to happen. We parked at my usual spot and I opened her door. The sun had set and the weather plummeted to the mid 50's.

"I didn't make you feel forced to say yes, did I?" I asked her as she got out of the car. She shook her head.

"You've helped me more than you probably should have. I mean… I almost killed you but," she stopped for a second and chuckled. "Nevermind."

"You can't do that expect me not to ask. What did you mean?" I asked. She walked ahead with a smirk. I grabbed her arm and asked again as she assured it was nothing. "You're not a great liar when you smirk like that."

"Fine, don't get mad then," she said. I nodded slowly. "I almost killed you but you were so scared. It reminded me of how I was when I saw a monster. When I woke up in that place."

She got quiet for a second. Her face made it seem like it was a joke but when she spoke it out loud, her face saddened. I let go of arm but instead grabbed her hand. She jolted out of her trance.

"Yeah, I was terrified but I never thought you were a monster," I said. She looked at me. "Sorry."

"What for?" She asked. I laughed a bit. 

"Nervous reaction, I guess. That's in the past now," I said. She nodded. "I'm super brave and we're gonna solve this mystery together."

"Yes, one of those statements are correct," she said, beginning to walk ahead. 

In hopes of softening to shock, I sent my mother a text letting her know I had a pretty huge favor to ask. As we passed my father's car, I hoped everything would go well. Maybe this will be their chance to launch me out from the nest?...

"Let's get this over with," Kai'sa said, staring up at me at the doorway. I gave her a quick look. The baggy jacket I lent her made the edges of her exoskeleton not too strange… her boots looked strange but were mostly hidden from the front… her face has her markings. "Riley?"

"Yeah, let's go," I nodded. I opened the door and let her in, following quickly with our bag of clothing. I figured just shirts would be enough for now… maybe I could convince Luna to go shopping with us. 

I moved through the small hallway into the living room where my parents sat on the couch. My father watched TV as my mother browsed social media on her phone, occasionally laughing at something. I cleared my throat and gave a weak wave when they turned to me. 

"Hey," I said, placing the bag down. My mother put her phone down and put a warm smile on when she saw Kai'sa. "Please don't."

"What?" She joked. I hopefully defused the scenario where she called Kai'sa her 'future daughter in law' like she usually did when I introduced a girl to her. I led her to the couch opposite of them and sat beside her. "Welcome to our home. What is your name?"

"Kai'sa," she said, bowing her head slightly. My father sat forward and looked at me. "Pleasure to meet you both."

"Remember my text?" I began. My mother nodded and I sighed. I began explaining our solidified lie about Kai'sa being kicked out by a crazy roommate and asking me for help. "She starts work tomorrow with me at the bakery. I'll pay twice the rent. I can't let my friend get screwed over like that and not do anything."

"This is… a big thing to drop on us," my mother said. She stood up and looked at Kai'sa. "Please join us for dinner, dear."

"Y-yes, thank you ma'am," she said, staring up a bit nervously. My father stood up and motioned for me to follow him as he headed to our balcony. I told Kai'sa to wait in my room and followed.

"Sup?" I asked, sliding the glass door shut. He lit a cigarette and sat down on one of the chairs, motioning me to do the same.

"This wasn't what I expected you to ask. When you said a 'huge favor', I thought you meant not paying rent because of the holidays," he said, chuckling.

"No, bills come first," I said. He nodded.

"You've always been a smart boy. I'll tell you what you want to hear," he said, leaning forward. "All rules apply to her as well. We'll leave you to have your own space but she pays rent as well and treats us with the respect we'll give her."

"Of course," I said, nodding slowly. My shoulders relaxed. "Thanks, dad."

"Thank your boring teenage years," he said, grinning. A little offended but whatevs. "So… is she your girlfrie-"

Zzzzzzzz

After eating a… strangely normal dinner with my family and Kai'sa, I sat on my computer chair as Kai'sa laid on my bed. She had removed her clothes and rested in her skin tight exoskeleton with a large part of her chest exposed. Her torso rose and dipped rhythmically as she breathed and I found myself staring. 

"Thanks for doing this," Kai'sa spoke. I jolted up and turned towards my monitor.

"Of course, glad everything worked out alright," I began. I opened the Riot Launcher. "Or as alright as they could have."

The launcher had problems launching. This was common since it was new and the season had just ended so I gave it a few more tries. No luck. I headed to the website and what I found was things being blamed on a breach of security, data going missing and deleted. I looked over at Kai'sa again… She wasn't data. She felt and looked real. I moved my chair over towards the edge of the bed.

"Hey, this is gonna sound super fucking weird but I need to know," I began. She leaned up. "I need to know if you can bleed."

"Excuse me?" She asked. I explained what I read as simply as I could.

"You could bleed in Runeterra. If you're considered just data, you shouldn't bleed, right?" I began. She still looked at me strangely. "You feel real, you breathe… you're definitely here and real but…"

"This is confusing… huh…" she began. She grabbed my hand. "Maybe this will help."

She moved her hand over her heart. Her skin was smooth to the touch but my pinky felt strange sensation of her exoskeleton. There was no denying it; there was a heartbeat. 

"Am I real enough?"


	3. Baked Goods and Terror

The next day, despite me thinking it would be awkward, began rather normal. As normal as it could've began; I woke Kai'sa up and handed her a pair of black pants. She nodded and began changing as I checked my computer. I started wondering what my family would think if they came in. I had set up a small decoy bed on the ground just in case but I couldn't talk my way out of a woman taking her pants off beside me.

"Nothing new…" I began, checking for any updates on the League situation. I grabbed my pocket essentials and my work shirt. "Ready?"

"I suppose. Am I?" She asked. 

"Yeah, you'll get your work shirt when we get there."

We quietly moved through the living room. The place was almost pitch black and I shook my phone to turn on its flashlight to not wake anyone. Kai'sa followed me quietly as we went down the stairs. The bakery wasn't too far away and there was rarely anyone out at this time. Once we arrived, I held my phone and called the manager. She let us in and I clocked in while the woman handed Kai'sa the rest of her uniform. She headed towards the bathroom and Jennifer began talking at me.

"Run her by the regular morning routine. Please actually use the checklists," she told me. I nodded idly. "I know you know but it's easy to forget steps if you don't learn it right."

"I know, I know. I'll do things your way… at least the first day," I said, yawning. "I am the training guy, after all."

Kai'sa came over to where we were, dressed in her complete uniform as I still stood there in the clothes I woke up in. Our manager grabbed her clipboard and turned towards Kai'sa. 

"Just follow his lead. He complains about everything but he knows what to do," she said, half jokingly. I shrugged and she began walking. "Come get me if you need anything."

With that, I began my morning routine I would do four days a week. I turned on a small speaker for some music and Kai'sa followed me in silence as I turned on the equipment, placed racks from the sink into where they belonged, and carried what the night shift people left ready for us to make. 

The entirety of the day was enjoyable. Since I was with Kai'sa, I mostly got to stay back and watch as we worked, stepping in when I needed to. I spent the day following the dumb checklists of what to bake for an average, slow weekday while Kai'sa learned how to brew coffee and teas from one of my coworkers. I leaned against a stainless steel table and tried sneaking a croissant as my manager stood at her office door, calling me. 

"What's up?" I asked. She tilted her head up at the few security cameras.

"How is she doing?" She asked. 

"Great. We'll see tomorrow if she can do it by herself. If she can, maybe I'll finally quit," I said, stretching my arms. She playfully punched me. "Saturday and Sunday, she'll be closing with me?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Today went by quick, it's almost time to get out of here."

"Yeah, time flies when you're barely working," I joked. "Need anything else then?"

"No, should be alright to leave whenever your replacement gets here," she said. I nodded and headed back to the kitchen area. 

I put a few more things in to bake as it neared the fabled time of 5 o' clock. Kai'sa came towards me as a few other people walked into the back. I greeted our other coworkers and showed her the best part of working: clocking out for the day.

Ten hours later, we sat in the car again, our clothing covered in flour and water. 

"How did you like your first day?" I asked. 

"It was okay. I think I got the hang of it," she said. I began driving us home. 

"Good because tomorrow you're mostly on your own while I watch," I said. She nodded. She's no fun. 

Zzzzz

After another uneventful night, the next day went by smoothly. Kai'sa remember everything I taught her and, after we opened, I took over and she did what my coworker taught her just as good. It was impressive, I never had such an easy day… Did it have something to do with being a living computer program? I stared at her from the kitchen, sitting on a small step stool until my phone rang and snapped me out of my trance. It was Luna texting me.

"Hey, we're downtown and figured I'd invite you to come. Don't forget your car, please!" She wrote.

"Thanks for inviting my car. Got nothing better to do, meet up at the Chinese place at 5:30 then." I replied. She wasn't a huge fan of Chinese but these were my terms.

"Ugh, fine. We'll get a table if it's busy. Thanks." She wrote, as my manager's legs stood behind my phone. 

"Sup," I answered. She shrugged. "Everything's good, I promise. "My sister needed a favor."

"I know but at least go to the back. If the newer employees see you texting, they'll think it's okay. Better yet, do things the right way and just ask me," she said, crossing her arms. She moved back into her office and motioned for me to follow. She handed me a few 20 dollar bills. "Give this to her. Since we're doing it this way, there's no reason to wait for the next pay period."

"Oh, sweet. I'll give it to her," I said, pocketing the money. "She's doing great. Better than me. Maybe give me a raise or I'll quit?"

"Get out of my sight," she said, pushing me out. Worth a try. 

I returned to my seat as the final half hour passed by. The night employees came in and Kai'sa and I were free. She walked into the car after me, holding a small coffee cup and waving weakly at the girl she had been working with. 

"Seems like you had a good day," I said. She looked at me. "You okay?"

"She gave me this, do you want it?" She asked. I grabbed the drink as she handed it over. I took a sip and felt my teeth begin to deteriorate instantly. 

"How much sugar did she put in this??" I asked me, putting it down. It was good but super sweet to the point of making me thirsty. Kai'sa picked it up again. 

"She said 'my magic number is 7'," she said, taking a sip. I watched for her reaction… "Hmm… she has good taste."

"You're both insane women," I said. I began to drive. "My sister invited us to hang out. Want to come along?"

"Don't we have to wake up early tomorrow? You seem to have trouble waking up in the morning," she said. 

"The next two days we are working the night shift. After that, we're free for three days," I said. She nodded in understanding. 

"If you say so. Where are we going?"

Zzzzz

Despite me leaving the house maybe once per week when not going to work, I had fond memories of spending nights walking around with friends in the downtown area. Since it was next to a fancy arts high school that rivaled mine, it was always populated with teenagers. When we arrived at the parking garage, the sun was beginning to set and beautiful orange clouds covered the sky through the tall buildings and palm trees. We found parking on the third floor and I checked my phone for any other messages.

"Here, it's going to get cool soon," I said, handing Kai'sa the jacket I had dubbed as hers. I took off my collared work shirt and grabbed my own jacket I kept in the car these days. "Ready?"

We headed down the stairs of the garage and into the sea of people. Friday night was in full swing; people hung around a small stage where a local band was playing a cover of 'Light My Fire' by The Doors, teenagers walked in groups laughing and holding various drinks. Kai'sa grabbed my hand and stepped closer as we danced around the crowd. It was nostalgic in a weird way… I hadn't held a girl's hand here in six years. 

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I began. She nodded towards me. "Did you have fun in Valoran?"

"Rarely. After joining the League, it was just being summoned to settle whatever argument came up. Couldn't really do much of anything," she said. We crossed a street and I began heading towards a small Chinese restaurant. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno… You never seemed like a champion who I could picture smiling, if that makes sense… like… Riven or something," I said. She went silent. "I guess people in our world only see one side of yours. I hope you can have some good times while we figure this out."

"I do too, Riley," she said, nodding. 

As we turned the corner, I went to free my hand from hers but, when I did, her grip tightened. Around the corner, my sister stood there with her friends, Jamie and Lauren. They all stared at the two of us as I tried to free my hand again. Kai'sa resisted until she noticed my sister and released my hand. 

"H-Hey guys, what's up?" I asked. Jamie glared at me, which was awkward and I would rather not deal with. "So many more people come here on Fridays, we kept almost losing each other."

"Hey guys… it's not too busy so we figured we'd just wait," Luna said. Lauren, who I didn't know too well, gave me a quick wave while Jamie seemed to ignore me. We all followed Luna in and quickly got seated at a table for 6. The three girls sat on one side while Kai'sa and I sat across from them. "Why do you like this place so much?"

"Foods good. My friends and I would come here before," I said. This place was nostalgic for me; the summer after senior year where most of my friends went off to bigger and better things and I remained here. "You could've told me you didn't want to come here. I would've fought with you about it."

"That doesn't matter. Help us with our film," Luna said, quickly. Lauren smirked and move across the table beside me. Kai'sa was against a wall… I was trapped. Clever high schoolers… I crossed my fingers in front of my face. 

"This feels like a hostage situation," I said. Luna nodded and grabbed a chopstick. What?! "That'd be cheating."

"They're entering the best projects into a film festival where we could win cash," Luna said. "It's not cheating if you're an actor."

"Oh… I can act in it, sure," I agreed. Lauren turned to me. 

"And, since you're getting credit as an actor, you can help us with other things," Luna said, smirking. 

"You're a bunch of criminals… I'll help you. That's it," I said. Luna jabbed my arm with the chopstick. "What the fuck?"

"Alright. That's fair," Luna said, nodding. She turned to Jamie and Lauren, who had returned to the other side. "Anything else?"

Both girls shook their heads, Kai'sa looked confused as all hell. A waitress came by and took our drink orders and Luna spoke up again after Jamie looked at her.

"Did I leave a camera bag in your car?" Luna asked. Random but, now that I thought about it, she did. "I told Jamie you'd bring it but I forgot to bring it up until she got here."

"Can we go get it? My parents think I lost it and they want to know I have it ASAP," Jamie said. 

"Uhh yeah, I can go get it," I said, standing up. I looked at Kai'sa. "I'll be back in a minute."

"I'll go with you," Jamie said, quickly standing up. I glanced at Luna, who avoided eye contact with me and began talking with Kai'sa about the menu. 

Fooled by a bunch of high schoolers, I began the walk back to my car with Jamie, my sister's childhood friend who developed a crush on me over time. As we walked towards the more crowded streets, she grabbed my hand.

"Just in case, we could get split up," she said, smiling. I set myself up on that one, well played. "How's work been? We never get to really talk."

"Fine. Kai'sa started working so I've been training her the past few days," I answered. 

"Oh," she began. After a few seconds, she continued. "Luna said she's living with you, right? Must be nice living with a cute girl like her."

"It's nice now that she has a job and a home. She's my friend," I answered, a bit harshly. "Don't act like I'm a bad guy for helping a friend." 

"I wasn't saying that at all," she quickly retorted. "I know you're a great guy… I was just curious."

That was the weird part of our relationship. She said stupid stuff sometimes and I felt guilty for having hurt her feelings. I suck at interacting with any women.

"Sorry. Tons of people keep saying she's my girlfriend and it gets irritating," I lied. She nodded and kept walking in silence. 

We reached the parking garage and went up the stairs to the floor I was parked in. The night was in full swing; it seemed we were the only people in the entire garage. The garage was packed and everyone was enjoying themselves. We moved to the car and I unlocked the car. She let go of my hand.

"It's behind the passenger seat, I think," I said. She looked at me. 

"Can you get it? It's your car," she said. I stared at her in confusion. "It's kinda weird to dig around someone's car… isn't it?"

Never thought of that but I guess it made sense? I placed a knee on my backseats and leaned forward to look for the black bag in the black interior. Quickly, I felt a push and I fell forward, hitting my head and shoulder on the closed door. I shifted my body around and Jamie quickly climbed in and straddled me. 

"Jamie, sto-" I began. She put a finger on my lips and leaned forward so our faces were inches away. I moved my face away. "Get off me, this is-"

"Get off you?" She asked, pulling down the zipper of her hoodie. She wasn't wearing a shirt, revealing a simple black bra. Her free hand grabbed at my crotch. "This is saying otherwise."

"I can't help that… You don't want to do this," I said, as she grinned and tugged at my pants. It had been a while and my body seemed to agree. Use your brain, Riley, it's all you have control of now. "People will walk by. We'll get in so much trouble."

"Let them watch," she said, moving both hands away and behind her. I heard a click and the bra slowly slide down her stomach. "Oops."

"Jamie…" I whispered, as I tried to look away from her. "They're going to wonder why we're gone so long…"

"Am I really that gross to you?" She said angrily, putting her hands on my chest. "I've wanted to fuck you so bad but you don't even want to look at me. You just see me as some stupid kid instead of a woman who wants you!"

"This'll make everything weird," I began. This was a losing battle. My life was so boring a few days ago… "You're-"

"Don't give me some 'You're a great girl' bullshit either," she said. She unbuckled my belt and moved her hand down again. "If I'm so great… make me feel it."

She flinched for a second while I sat up. I grabbed her waist just in case and I looked at her. Her green eyes stared back at me lustfully. This was super weird and would surely be awkward but, at this moment, instinct took over and I pulled her towards me. I felt her breath on my face quicken.

"Please… treat me like a woman," she moaned. I leaned forward and kissed her neck as I pulled down her jacket. The world was empty; just the two of us about to do something rash. It was… weird. I opened my eyes and looked outside. The parking lot was dark… darker than it should since there were many lights here. "Riley?"

"Something's… off. Don't you feel it?" I asked. She shook her head. I looked out into the edge of my vision where there seemed to be an unnatural darkness. A pair of glowing, green eyes stared back at me. "We have to go. Now!"

"What's wrong?" Jamie asked, grabbing her jacket. The tone of my voice seemed to snap her back into this reality. I turned my body around and placed her on the seat as I got out. I went around to the passenger seat. "What's going on?"

"There's something out there… we need to leave," I said. I opened my glove compartment and pulled out a small pocket knife I had. "Stay with me. Do what I say."

She nodded and grabbed her arm while we slowly moved through the middle of the road. The eyes were gone so I constantly looked around as Jamie held onto me. Her body was shaking; it was way colder than when we got here and maybe our body heat was masking that. The stairway was in sight as Jamie looked back at me and I saw the green eyes stared at me as a purple creature appeared in front of us. His mouth dripped with what looked like saliva as he raised his massive claws up. I pulled the girl back as the claws smashed into the ground, cracking the concrete where both blades hit together.

"Don't move away from me. Stay behind me," I said, as she moved behind me. Kha'Zix raised his claws away and began circling us slowly. From what I knew, he could go invisible at least one more time if the same rules applied here. After doing about a half circle turn facing him, he vanished. "Don't run."

"I can't even run," she said. She was justly terrified. 

We began to walk slowly towards the stairway and I heard a noise from behind me where Jamie was. The void creature jumped from a nearby car and towards the girl. 

"Watch out!" I yelled, pushing her onto the ground and ducked under him. His claws were raised up and when he landed, I took a shot and grabbed his arms, just under the claws. His face moved closer to mine with what looked like a grin as he overpowered me to the ground. "Jamie, get out of here… hurry!"

Thanks to either adrenaline or Kha'Zix being deceptively light, I put one of my legs under him and pushed him off. He stood up and sharpened his claws as he neared me. I stood up and shakily held the small knife. He moved closer as I stepped back; I tossed the knife and his large claw knocked it away. I looked around; I was alone… at least she had gotten out. 

He vanished from my sight and almost immediately reappeared mid air, ready to strike. I raised my arms in defense. A blast of purple energy blasted him in mid air.

"Are you alright?" Kai'sa asked, running beside me. Her clothing was in a small pile on the ground and her floating weapons had appeared. Her face and chest were covered by the exoskeleton and her voice was a little distorted. I nodded and stood beside her. "Get out of here, I'll fight him."

"No way, I'm not leaving you here alone. You won't have a chance," I said, as he vanished again. I moved forward and grabbed the knife. "I'll watch behind you."

"Right, thank you," she said, nodding. 

She moved towards a more open part of the garage and I stood back to back with her, looking for any signs of movement. 

"Did you see Jamie?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah, I don't think she knew who I was," she said. "Was she hurt?"

"No, at least I don't think so. I managed to grab him for a second and I told her to run," I said.

"You? Grabbed him? Are you insane?" She asked.

"I don't know! My body just moved on its own," I responded. "I can maybe do it again… then you could easily hit him."

"Leave that as a last resort," she said. "He'll slaughter you."

Moments passed until I heard rustling through the darkness. Whenever the void creature could be seen, Kai'sa would fire a smaller projectile at where it was but to no avail. She was growing frustrated and the worries began to flood my head in place of the adrenaline.

She grabbed my jacket and tugged me towards another area. As I ran behind her, I felt a sharp pain on my leg and dropped to the ground. I heard a familiar noise as Kha'Zix uncloaked and leaped towards me with his claws raised. I struggled to the side as Kai'sa turned around and began to shoot the monster. As he landed, he turned to her and fired spikes towards her; she shot a barrage of missiles back quickly. I bit my lip to quell the pain and threw the knife at the monster.

It didn't strike perfectly but it managed to confuse the creature as Kai'sa launched another flurry of attacks. Each time she hit, small blobs of purple energy stayed on Kha'Zix. He ran forward and slashed forward, glancing Kai'sa and leaving a tear on her armor. She let out a pained grunt as she launched another purple blast of energy. The blobs of plasma burst with energy as the final hit connected and the champion dropped to the ground.

Kai'sa kneeled down beside me and placed her open palm near his head.

"Filthy monster," she said, angrily. She turned to me. "What do we do?"

"How should I know?" I said, slowly dragging myself towards Kha'Zix. 'Think, Riley, think…'

After a few seconds of sitting there, I slowly placed my hands over the champion. Kai'sa watched as Kha'Zix began to vanish in a bright light. The darkness around us slowly vanished and I began to hear people again. Kai'sa grabbed her clothes as her weapons seemed to dissolve into the air. She rushed over to me and helped me up. 

"That seemed like something a summoner would do. Kind of reminded me of recalling," she said. I nodded and looked around as people began to drive and walk around us. She quickly helped me towards my car where I could sit in the back seat. "Well, that's one. It would've been nice if it had been a nicer champion."

"How did you know?" I asked her. I finally got a chance to see my own leg. Kha'Zix had shot his spikes at me. The spikes had vanished but the wounds were obvious. I grabbed a towel I used to wipe the car interior and tied it around my leg. "That I was in trouble?"

"I just… felt it? Somehow I could sense you were in danger," Kai'sa said. She crossed her arms and raised a hand to her chin. "Good thing too. I don't think you would've survived."

"Probably not… we should head back. Time seemed to move slower when I moved by people, it was strange," she said. As she held her clothes, her exoskeleton began to quickly blink and suddenly vanish, leaving me standing a few feet from a nude League of Legends champion in an empty parking garage. She quickly covered up with the jacket. "Wha- turn around!"

I obliged; I didn't need today to become even weirder. She moved near the front of the car and put on her clothes. She sighed and looked away from me with a red face. 

"I guess some of my abilities are returning," she said, extending her hand out towards me. Her purple exoskeleton flashed back onto her hand. "I had basic clothing under before but they must've vanished. You… you didn't see, did you?"

"Not really, kinda shocked me and you covered up quickly," I said, truthfully. We saw a few people walking up towards their cars. "We should head back. I think I can walk slowly. Hopefully the bleeding stops."

"Was everything okay?" Kai'sa asked, as we began walking. I bit my lip as we walked down the stairs. "Weird girl. Your sister was saying she thinks she's wasting her energy on you."

"Let's just get back. Today's been a weird day," I said, trying to go back to the silence I usually tried to break.

We walked together through the crowd of people. A wave of thoughts creeped in as we walked, hand in hand.

I could've died. That wasn't a video game. Kha'Zix would've cut through me like paper and there wouldn't be a respawn. My throat felt heavy.

Suddenly, I missed my boring life.


End file.
